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American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) is a NASDAQ listed company based in Charles Town, West Virginia. With its subsidiaries it provides online and campus-based postsecondary education. It operates through two entities, American Public Education and Hondros College, Nursing Programs.

The company was founded in 1991 by James P. Etter, a retired Marine Corps officer and instruction. It began as the American Military University (AMU) to cater to the unique needs of a highly mobile military community. AMU after a decade expanded into the American Public University System (APUS) and established American Public University (APU) to serve the needs of public service professionals and various civilian communities. APEI was formed and incorporated in Delaware in May 2002 in anticipation of the reorganization of the American Military University.

APEI, the parent company of APUS became a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ Stock Market on November 11, 2007. APUS earned the prestigious Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) Gomory Award for Quality Online Education and first-time winner of the Sloan-C Effective Practice Award in 2009. It became a repeat recipient of the Sloan-C Effective Practice Award the following year. Walmart U.S. also selected APU as Exclusive Life-long Learning Partner in 2010.

In 2013 APEI acquired National Education Seminars, Inc. which is known as Hondros College of Nursing. The entity offers a diploma in practical nursing (PN), an associate degree in nursing (AND), and a registered nurse degree to bachelor of sciences in nursing (RN to BSN), completion program to more than 1,300 students at four Ohio campuses and online.

The firm’s universities curriculum include 87 degree programs and 69 certificate programs in disciplines related to national security, military studies, intelligence, homeland security, criminal justice, technology, business administration, education, nursing and liberal arts. The company services around 127,000 students living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. It provides services in a number of international locations as well.